Kamal Al-Solaylee

Writing “Brown”: Kamal Al-Solaylee discusses reporting, researching his Governor General’s Award-nominated new book

BY JASMINE BALA Staff Reporter Journalists need to think of the bigger picture and understand the craft of structuring a long argument if they want to do reporting for book-length work, said Kamal Al-Solaylee, author of the Governor General’s Award-nominated book, Brown: What Being Brown in the World Today Means (to Everyone). Al-Solaylee’s second book explores the meaning of brownness,…

Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable is part of a journalist’s job, say panelists

BY MADDIE BINNING Staff Reporter Young journalists – and even industry veterans – can feel uncomfortable reporting controversial stories on topics like race, gender and LGBT issues. Some may even shy away from reporting on these topics to avoid the social media blowback that could follow. But feeling uncomfortable while reporting on some communities and situations is part of being a…

Join us for our first panel of the year: Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable

Kamal Al-Solaylee’s new book explores the complexities of having brown skin

BY: ALLISON RIDGWAY Staff Reporter When Kamal Al-Solaylee saw a group of Filipina maids enjoying a picnic in a Hong Kong park during their time off work one Sunday afternoon in 2011, the concept for his next book began to form. That idea solidified when, back home and riding the subway in Toronto, he again saw a large group of…